Shoreham, Kent - AONB

Welcome! Shoreham village – an old, beautiful village in the valley of the River Darent six miles north of Sevenoaks in Kent. The probable derivation of the name is estate at the foot of a steep slope. Steep slope was from the Saxon word scor. pronounced shor, but written sore by Norman scribes.

The Darent valley was one of the major areas of Stone Age settlement; and Shoreham is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was also known as a smuggling area. Moreover, Shoreham was the most bombed village in the United Kingdom during the Second World War

Visitors

Shoreham and the surrounding countryside is a beautiful place to visit, with many things to do; 4 pubs, a tea room, aircraft museum (far from boring and with another tea room), golf course and much more in the surrounding area. We also have a number of events through the year, including the Duck Race, Village Fete, Heavy Horse Show and Garden Safari.

Please check out the Visitors menu for details on getting to Shoreham.

A Brief History of Shoreham Village

DESPITE being dubbed the “most bombed village in Britain”, Shoreham village boasts a picturesque trail of old architecture.

While some buildings crumbled under second world war bombs, many survived and still stand proudly in the village today.

One architectural victim of the wartime bombings was Meadow Cottage, which once stood beside the River Darent and had a tea garden popular with ramblers.

But many of the old buildings from the village’s long history are still standing, including the parish church, which has a wall dating back to the 11th century, and the 15th century Almshouses in Filston Lane and Holly Place in the High Street.

Shoreham village flourished in Georgian times, when many fine houses were built, including Samuel Palmer’s home on the edge of the River Darent, Water House. The village once boasted a 13th century castle, which had fallen into decay long before the second world war.

The grand building was in ruins by Henry VIII’s reign, and Castle Farm was built in its place. Some of the village’s largest buildings are marked with suns, which once acted as an insurance policy in case of fire. Firefighters would only tackle blazes at homes with the “fire mark”.

A dozen shops used to line the street, from a butcher to a bakery and a shoemaker. The river once fed Shoreham’s watermills – a corn mill to the south and paper mill in the north.